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Career News | June 26, 2020

Learn About Yourself with the DISC Assessment

By Dr. George Monk

You’ve probably heard about the DISC assessment that sorts personal behaviors into four groups: D (Dominance), I (Influence), S (Steadiness), and C (Compliance), or maybe you took one in college. DCAA’s new hires take the DISC assessment as part of the onboarding process, and the assessment is also part of DCAA’s mentoring program.  We feel the assessment helps our newest employees learn about themselves and how to better communicate with their new coworkers. As a new employee, you should share your behavioral style with your office. 

Identifying and understanding communication and work styles can be helpful, especially for teams that work in stressful situations and environments. Sharing DISC styles gives everyone in the office an understanding of why we each communicate the way we do. For example, a "D" typically likes short, to the point information, with little to no detail, which goes against the grain for a "C" type who loves details.  Consequently, if the "D" Supervisor cuts off a "C's" explanation, it's not because they are being rude or they devalue a "C" opinion, rather the "D" simply has received what they needed and is ready to move on to the next challenge. If coworkers know each other’s style, the "C" worker need not be offended and can just chalk it up to differences in styles, not as an effort to devalue someone. DISC highlights these differences and takes the extra step to minimize conflict. 

Your team can also use DISC to set standards around meetings, email, and work tasks. Different DISC behavioral styles enjoy and excel at different tasks. Find a detail-oriented “C” to review your audit document or ask a cooperating “S” to handle a tricky vendor. Everyone has something to contribute and DISC helps us find jobs people excel at.

If you’d like to learn more about DISC behavioral styles, there are several free online tests available. Remember, if you join DCAA, you will take the DISC assessment as part of your initial onboarding training.